In a recent study published in Ecology, John Lill and Robert Marquis (University of Missouri – St. Louis) investigated the role shelter-building caterpillars play in herbivorous insect communities living on white oaks. Previous studies have shown how caterpillars create and modify habitats through the construction of leaf shelters, increasing biodiversity around the leaves. In their study, Lill and Marquis wanted to see what effect shelter-building caterpillars had on the entire community living on o
A pulsed electric arc could provide an alternative to chlorination and other chemical methods of disinfecting water, according to researchers from the University of Poitiers, France, speaking to the Institute of Physics’ Congress on March 27 at Heriot-Watt University.
Water treatment is usually carried out using chlorine-containing disinfecting agents but these produce by-products that are coming under increasing scrutiny by the European Community. Chemical agents to destroy pollutants
Dirt, dust and grime are familiar to city dwellers. But tiny airborne particles produced by road traffic, especially in highly polluted urban areas, can be a risk to health. Just how much of a risk is the subject of a talk to be given by Birgit Krausse, of the Institute of Energy and Sustainable Development at De Montfort University Leicester, at the Urban Air conference in Prague on Wednesday 26 March. Her findings suggest that current air-quality standards ignore a major component of pollution tha
At only about 1,000 in the wild, China’s giant panda is among the most endangered species in the world. But there is still hope if we act fast. The panda’s greatest threat is habitat loss and new research identifies high-quality habitat that, if protected, could increase the species’ chances of long-term survival.
“The current network of nature reserves provides protection for less than half of the pandas’ remaining habitat and fails to conserve essential habitat for disp
While it is well-known that roads can spread invasive weeds, new research shows that some roads are worse than others. In Utah, areas along paved roads were far more likely to be invaded than those along 4-wheel-drive tracks. This suggests that limiting road improvements would help keep out invasive weeds.
“Each step of road improvement would appear to convert an increasing area of natural habitat to roadside habitat,” say Jonathan Gelbard, who did this work while at Duke University in Durh
Biologists believe that climate change is affecting living things worldwide, and the latest evidence suggests that warmer winters may mean fewer migratory birds. New research shows that as winter temperatures have risen in central Europe, the number of migratory birds has dropped. Ultimately, this may also decrease the number of migratory bird species there.
“We predict that with increasing winter temperatures…the number of long-distance migratory bird species should decline,” say Nicole L
Scrap tyres could provide an inexpensive source of raw materials for the chemical industry, according to Professor Paul Williams of the University of Leeds who will speak on Tuesday 25 March at the Waste Management conference, part of the Institute of Physics Congress at Heriot-Watt University.
Approximately 150 million scrap tyres are generated throughout Europe each year, about a fifth of those in the UK alone. Most of these are simply buried in landfills or accumulate in enormous scrap-ty
Mercury, that silvery liquid metal ubiquitous in switches, pressure gauges and thermometers, is an environmental bad-boy and toxic to humans through inhalation, skin contact and ingestion. It is easily spilled and can go unnoticed in aging lab equipment.
However, with new technology, mercury can be practically erased from the typical laboratory setting, reducing and even eliminating the environmental and health hazards, according to researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory who present
A fast and ingenious new way to detect toxic contamination of water has been developed by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
The method, currently undergoing further experimentation and development, has particular consequences for countering bioterrorism, but with less ominous, potential implications as well for medical technologies, pharmaceuticals and industry, plus environmental quality in general.
The work of the research team, headed by Prof. Shimshon Belkin,
Aim is better filters for contaminants
Tracy L. Cail, a Ph.D. student in geological sciences at Virginia Tech, is developing a new method for calculating sticking efficiency at the nanoscale with the aim of someday developing improved filters for removing contaminants from solutions, such as bacteria from groundwater. She will present her research at the 225th American Chemical Society national meeting March 23-27 in New Orleans.
In the past, scientists have used theoretical
Scientists studying trees ranging from saplings to 130 years old in Canada’s northern forests have discovered that the period since a fire last swept through an area determines how much carbon the forest can store. Twenty to forty year old stands absorb more carbon than those 70 years old and older, despite being smaller and having less biomass or plant material.
Boreal or northern forests account for close to 25 percent of total carbon stored in vegetation and soils in the Earth’s biospher
Forests form an integral part of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change because they act as terrestrial “sinks” to soak up the carbon emissions that are contributing to global warming. Countries that have ratified the protocol can offset their carbon emissions quota by planting trees, either at home or in developing countries. But how efficient is this “carbon trading” and how good are forests at absorbing these extra carbon emissions?
Nearly one hundred of the world’s leading experts on globa
In the latest edition of Nature (March 13th, 2003) a group of scientist led by professor Pertti Hari from the University of Helsinki presents a novel observation: ultraviolet radiation induced a flux of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from pine needles to the atmosphere. This result is interesting because nitrogen oxides participate in several essential chemical reactions in the atmosphere. On the other hand, plants can utilize the nitrogen of NOx as their nutrient.
It has been difficult to detect the
Scientists researching the population numbers of saiga antelope in Russia have found that in the case of the male, there may be a deadly truth in the old boast, ’So many women, so little time.’
Making use of data gathered from a 10-year field study, scientists report in Nature today that saiga antelope, which rank in the World Conservation Union’s category of most endangered species, are being pushed closer to extinction because there are not enough male antelopes to mate with the fe
The United Nations World Water Development Report: Water for People, Water for Life considers the water in Finland cleanest in the world. The secret is not only in the quality of raw water, but also in the water treatment methods.
The report, published last week, ranked 122 countries based on the quality of their water and their ability and willingness to improve it. Finland also scored the highest number of points on the overall Water Poverty Index which graded 147 countries according to th
Biologists in Manchester have helped create a breakthrough in alcohol production that could save industry millions of pounds and help clean up the environment.
Many distilleries across Europe still rely on 19th century technology pioneered by Louis Pasteur, so the invention of a vastly more efficient fermenting system offers exciting possibilities.
The technology, developed at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), also allows continuous production of the chemical, an improvement from
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